Sports of The Times; Armstrong Is Soaking Up the Sun, the Doughnuts and the Endless Scrutiny

By GEORGE VECSEY

Published: January 25, 2004

SOLVANG, Calif.—
LANCE ARMSTRONG is already being second-guessed for the doughnuts and the late movies and lolling around on the beach -- blatant signs of his new sybaritic lifestyle as a single man who is dating Sheryl Crow. He might as well be whacked for changing his training routine, too.

Armstrong is trying to do what no cyclist has done -- win his sixth Tour de France next July. In the past, he did most of his preseason training in Europe, but this year he and his United States Postal Service team will spend extra time in the United States, so he can be near his three children.

''If it shakes out, that's cool,'' Armstrong said Friday evening. And if it doesn't shake out? Armstrong exhaled through pursed lips and said, ''I got to do it.''

His divorce is final, and he seems dedicated to being close to his children, even if he is in training in the hills north of Santa Barbara, Calif., and his children are with his former wife in Austin, Tex. At least he is on the same continent.

''It's going to kill me to be away for two months,'' he said. ''Three or four would be even worse.''

On the Web sites of cycling and in the sporting newspapers of Europe, the purists will say he needs to be on the roads of Europe, where cycling is a big-time sport. He needs to speak (think, dream, cycle) in French or Spanish. He needs to wake up in the morning and hear names like Ullrich and Beloki and Hamilton on the sports shows. But the roads of the high Alps, where next July's Tour will be won or lost, are covered in snow and ice right now. Besides, he and his teammates could convince themselves they are actually in Europe, since this old town was settled by Danes and is dominated by Danish names, Danish food, Danish architecture.

Armstrong is here by choice. He has survived cancer. He has won five consecutive Tours. He has his own foundation to combat cancer. He does not worry that people think he has gone soft. Exhibit A is his public date with Crow earlier this month, to a movie premiere at Grauman's Chinese Theater. They had met at Andre Agassi's charity bash in Las Vegas in October, long after his marriage to Kristin Armstrong had broken up.

''It's a fuzzy area,'' Armstrong said about public dating. ''You don't want to flaunt it.''

The premiere was at 7:30 p.m. -- Los Angeles is generally an early town -- but Armstrong was in trouble with the high priests for staying out late.

Then there was the doughnut issue. He and Crow went to a Lakers game, seated in Nicholson country, and the inevitable sideline reporter discovered them and asked Crow about Armstrong's training regimen.

''She's got a great sense of humor,'' Armstrong said Friday night. ''She said: 'I'm a bad influence. I always head for the Krispy Kremes.' She's one of these people who can eat 20 doughnuts and they don't show.''

The doughnut remark circled the globe -- a symbol of all that ails him. On Friday Armstrong's team held a miniversion of media day at the Super Bowl, trotting out all 25 team members to meet the cycling reporters in a hotel here. Armstrong did 30 minutes by himself at the dais. (Later, he said, he got on the cellphone to Crow and teased her about all the doughnut questions he had been asked.)

Oh, yes, and Armstrong is allegedly hanging around on the beach. What else do people do in California? In reality, he has been pedaling the hills above Los Angeles, stunned by the number of coyotes he sees. But he has not seen any mountain lions.

Early this month, a cycling buff named Mark Reynolds was killed by a mountain lion on a mountain trail in California. Reynolds was a friend of Armstrong's coach, Chris Carmichael, and Armstrong sent a sweet message to the mourners, praising Reynolds for donating bicycles to needy children.

''They told me Mark used to say, 'This kid could be the next Lance Armstrong,' '' Armstrong said. ''I say, 'This kid could be the next Mark Reynolds.' ''

Then Armstrong added: ''He died on his bike. I'm sure if you asked him, he would say that is how he would want to go.''

Armstrong may say that, too. Last year he evaded disaster during the Tour. This year he is defying precedence. He will train near his other home in Girona, Spain, but then will most likely to be back in the United States for the Tour de Georgia in April.

He used to insist on traveling every centimeter of the Tour de France before the grand three-week event began. He wanted to incorporate every shadow, every side road, every bump, every turn, into his subconscious. He is not doing that this year.

After the Tour, he plans to ride in the Summer Games in Athens, the short time trial rather than the long road race. He expects to ride the Tour again in 2005, assuming that the Postal Service signs on for another year. After that, he does not know.

''It's a waste of vision,'' Armstrong said. ''I learned that a long time ago. I spent many years before I got sick wondering what I was going to do, and it was a distraction. I know what I am doing this year and next, and they deserve my attention. Life after cycling will be less stressful.''

There will be a time when cycling buffs don't care how late he stays out. When that happens, he may miss the close attention of the vast cycling world.

Photo: Lance Armstrong will try to win a record sixth straight Tour de France this year. (Photo by Getty Images)